Substantial manufacturing costs are incurred in the processing of anklet socks after they have been knit due to numerous manual operations including inspecting, boarding, pairing, cuff folding, among other operations which are time consuming. Also, displaying anklet socks on a counter frequently result in separation of the socks and mismatching.
Generally, when socks that are knitted with thermoplastic stretchable yarns are dyed and scoured, they are subjected to elevated temperatures for drying whether in a relaxed condition or on a boarding form which may set the stitches and wrinkles due to the thermoplasticity of the yarns. Substantial stretch and bulk may be removed and wrinkles set in the socks resulting in decreased counter appeal. Furthermore, in production, it is extremely tedious for operators to achieve continuously the precise fold down for a cuff portion of an anklet making pairing somewhat more difficult without further readjustment of the turndown cuff length.
It is, therefore, an objective of this invention to provide a process whereby anklet socks may be handled more economically and expeditiously while retaining substantial bulk and stretch.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a process in which anklet socks knit with at least some thermoplastic stretchable yarn and having cuff portions may be handled with fewer manual operations to produce a more attractive final paired sock package.
Other objectives and many of the attendant advantages of this process will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the hosiery finishing art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and from the appended claims in which equivalents are contemplated.